The Partnership
by LollerpopOfEvil
Summary: Altair finds himself ordered with a new partner, and he finds himself intimidated and drawn to him. AltairXOC. *YAOI WARNING* Not following Storyline exactly...um...still suck at summaries. Rating may go up. YEAH DEFINITELY DISCONTINUED SORRY GUYS
1. The Beginning

The man glared at the sun as it rose on the horizon. He hated waking up. It was the worst feeling he could endure. It reminded him there's a whole other day ahead of him. It reminded him he still had things he had to do. It reminded him he was still alive. He hated it. He hated the beauty of the songbirds, the way the dew glistened on the bright flowers. He hated every aspect of it.

He new he was cynical. His friends, his peers, they all unconsciously reminded him he wasn't pleasant. At all. He was only good company because he forced a smile, forced a laugh, and was kind to…some. He didn't have many friends, but he was fine with that.

He let out a low growl as he rose out of his bed, pulling on his armor, his robes, his weapons.

He loved this part of the day. This part of the day reminded him that he would soon take the life of another. He would see the light in another Templar's eyes die out. Feel as their body's squirming slowly halted to a permanent stop. It reminded him of the fate he would soon endure. It made a dry, false smile spread across his face.

Then he went to the door. And he remembered why he had to get up in the first place. He was getting assigned a partner. Another man he would have to baby-sit and take care of like some orphan freak of nature (child). He didn't like partners. They only brought pain and suffering, at least, that was his cynical philosophy.

He used to ponder on questions such as, "What is wrong with me?" and, "Why can I not just be a happier person?" and, "Why do I always feel so tortured?" but in the end he never liked the answers so he just stopped asking.

This man's name is Talzik. He's an assassin, if you couldn't gather. Today, much to his distaste, he's getting assigned a partner. He has no idea who this partner is or what he's like. Hell, he didn't even know if it _was_ a man. But Al Mualim ordered it, so he would obey. He was _forced_ to obey. If he wasn't forced he would've told Al Mualim to screw himself and get a new goddamn baby-sitter.

But again, he was forced into doing things he didn't want to.

"Alright…" Talzik growled, "Let us get this over with…"

* * *

Altair trudged up the steps, his cold grey eyes glaring at the ground.

_A partner! _he thought, _This is demeaning! I do not need a goddamn partner! I am perfectly fine on my own. I do not need someone holding my hand._

Then, a thought popped into his head.

_What if I am being assigned to a novice? What if I need to hold their hand? Oh god, how _annoying_ that would get…_

Altair's thoughts came to a halt as he reached the top step. Al Mualim was busily pacing behind his desk, hands behind his back, looking out his giant barred window. That was normal.

What wasn't normal was the shadowy figure off in the corner. He was obviously an assassin, that was obvious from his robes. But his robes were black, in much contrast to skin. His skin was inhumanly pale, almost as white as the robes Altair wore. What hair wasn't veiled by his black was white as well, and his eyes matched the same color. On his right eye was a scar, flat at the top, but then came down to a menacing point.

What startled Altair the most was the fact his features weren't…hideous. In fact, one might call them highly attractive, and Altair found that hitch in his breath incredibly annoying.

_Please tell me he is not my partner…_

The pale man in the corner was staring at him with the most bored and uninterested look he thought possible. Altair found himself nearly frozen under his gaze, but he forced his legs to move up to Al Mualim's desk.

_Please tell me my real partner is going to walk up those stairs and just be someone else other than this man…_

"Altair," Al Mualim began, "this is Talzik, and he is going to be your partner."

_Shit._


	2. To Jerusalem

Altair stood there, doing his best to hide his shock and remorse. In his head he was wailing "Why oh god _why_! _Damn_ you I _damn _you to the depths of _hell_!" but of course he would never voice these thoughts. He would be sure to get killed for that. He bit down hard on the inside of his lip, trying his best to keep his mouth shut.

"Is there any mission you wish for me-us to complete?" Altair heard Talzik grumble from his corner. Altair was surprised by his voice. It was surprisingly smooth. The pitch itself was fairly low, but the deep growl it contained gave it an entirely new depth. He imagined he must be good at singing….

Altair shook his head, realizing he had just missed the first part of Al Mualim's sentence.

"-so, head off to Jerusalem-"

_Dammit_, Altair thought as Al Mualim uttered the name of the cursed city.

"-and ask Malik for information on your target."

Talzik nodded, and turned his gaze to Altair, who suppressed a shiver.

"Did you get that? Or was your mind elsewhere?"

Altair let a glare settle on his eyes. "I heard every word."

His new partner just shrugged, turned on his heels, and walked down the steps. Altair followed him, finding himself mesmerized by his broad shoulders. Altair shook his head.

_You're doing it again, cut it out._

When they got out of the castle, Talzik suddenly reeled on his heels, meeting Altair with a cold, hard, pale glare.

"You did not _actually _hear what Al Mualim said, did you?" His voice was thick, it twisted and turned with the accusation, but for some reason Altair found that Talzik's voice was dancing.

Altair paused, unsure.

"Um…who are we killing again?"

Talzik let out a loud, low groan of sheer annoyance. Altair slightly recoiled at the sound.

"You are _thick_…" Talzik grumbled.

Altair let his eyes fill with (false) rage.

"Listen, just because you are now my partner does not mean you suddenly have the right to order me around! I apologize for being a _little_ distracted this morning-" _a little, that's an understatement…_Altair thought before he continued, "but I was pondering on why Al Mualim would partner me up with a _freak_ of a man and why said man was glaring at me as if _I _were a Templar _ myself!_"

Altair stormed off, instantly regretting his words. He thought he had gotten a good distance when he suddenly felt a hand wrench him back by his shoulder.

"You _are_ thick…" the taller man growled. "You do not know who we need to kill, so why in the hell are you going without getting an answer?"

Altair felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. He slapped Talzik's hand off of his shoulder.

"Fine, then are you going to tell me?"

Talzik heaved a large, low sigh. "His name is Larin Nefarit. He is a tyrant and-," Talzik growled, "He is a tyrant and la dee dah dee dah we have to kill him."

Altair stared at Talzik in disbelief. "You seem not to care of Al Mualim's words," Altair murmured, trying to hide the disgust in his voice.

Talzik shook his head.

"I value his words. But I hear that same speech every time I'm sent on a mission. I value his words, when his words have value."

Altair opened his mouth, forgot what he was going to say, and closed it. Talzik's words made sense, so why did he find them so hard to accept. Altair just shrugged and continued walking.

"And he's in Jerusalem, correct?" Altair questioned, looking away from hi new partner.

The taller man nodded, and Altair let out a groan of annoyance.

"You do not like the city, do you?" Talzik responded. The words seemed like they should have had some sort of emotion laced in each letter, but they were said with a cold, hard indifference. Altair's heart sank slightly.

"I do not have much of a problem with the city, it is the rafiq there, Malik."

Talzik gave a curt nod. "He is a bit of a bitch…"

Altair quickly turned his gaze to him, expecting to see Talzik, looking at him with a joking face. But Talzik was looking ahead, his face emotionless, and not seeing the look of anger and disbelief that Altair had adorned. So, the shorter assassin looked away once again.

"Don't say things like that," he quietly mumbled.

Talzik let out a small, maniacal chuckle as they got to the gate.

"What, is he your wife?" he teased as he got on his horse. His horse was a dark black and brown color, but it's hair was a creamy white.

_How fitting_, Altair thought. Then Talzik's words struck him.

"_My wife!?_ Why in the hell would he be my wife!?" Altair nearly screeched as he mounted his own, white horse. He noticed Talzik had a smirk on his face. Well, it didn't look like a smirk. It looked like the imitation of a smirk. It was still hollow, emotionless. But for some reason Altair felt his heart still skip a beat.

_Dammit, pay atteintion, Altair! _He thought to himself. They then began to trot away on their horses to Jerusalem.


	3. OFF TO GATHER

Altair trudged through the streets of Jerusalem, his partner trotting ahead. Altair forced himself to stare at the ground. He really didn't want to get mesmerized in the physique of his new partner again. That was embarrassing. Altair's shoulders were hunched, mimicking an angry child. His cheeks were a bright pink, and his mind was trying hard not to let his mind wander to the man in front of him.

Talzik then took a sudden left turn and began climbing the wall, shortly followed by Altair. When they got to the roof, they fell into the entrance of the bureau.

Talzik landed gracefully and silently, his feet only made a quick, quiet, dull thud. Altair, stunned by Talzik's grace, fell clumsily, and landed hard on his feet, making a loud thump. Altair bit back his groans of pain.

Altair caught Talzik looking at him with his hollow smirk. The smaller assassin's cheeks turned a deep red in embarrassment and he glared at the ground.

Altair rose on his aching legs, followed by Talzik. Altair nervously shuffled into the room where he could hear Malik scratching away on his parchment.

"Safety and-"Altair began, only to be cut off by Talzik.

"Greetings, you spiteful bitch," he grumbled.

Malik looked up, not at all surprised. Altair, however, gave Talzik a disbelieving glare.

"Oh, Talzik, what a pleasant surprise…" Malik groaned unenthusiastically. Talzik just shrugged in response. Altair sighed.

"We are here to take the life of Larin Nefarit. Can you tell m-us," Altair corrected himself immediately, "information on him?"

Malik tapped at the wood desk, his finger nails clacking noisily against the splintered wood.

"Maybe." Malik dragged the word out as long as he could, obviously trying to take as much time as he could just to annoy the two.

Talzik rolled his eyes. "Please stop trying to seduce me with your sexy womanly tone."

This had just meant to be sarcasm, Talzik's voice was thick with it, but it had a strange reaction to Altair. He felt jealousy flare in his stomach, and couldn't hide the envy from his eyes. Talzik seemed to notice, and suddenly his cold, pale eye filled with some sick kind of enjoyment.

"Really," Malik began, "I suppose you fantasize about me at night? Maybe you have a love letter you are too nervous to give me? Or maybe your sick and twisted mind causes you to wish for my blood on your hands you sick sadistic bastard. I'm so flattered."

Altair could feel the heat rush up to his face as rage bubbled up inside him. He didn't know why, the sudden aggression was indescribable. He knew they were both being sarcastic, but when they both noticed his reaction the sudden look in their eyes made his breath halt and his stomach flip-flop.

"And how do you know I do not dream about you?" Talzik began the torment.

"I do not know," Malik began, "that is why I asked."

Talzik smiled evilly and leaned on the desk, his face inches from Malik. Altair was horrified when Malik leaned on the desk in front of Talzik, there faces now only about three inches away from each other.

"I remember this one fantasy," the taller assassin began in a lovesick tone, "where you were lying on your stomach and you had no-"

"I believe we're getting off task here!" Altair suddenly interrupted. Talzik and Malik suddenly turned to him, and then backed away from each other.

Malik let out a relieved sigh. "I think I threw up a bit in my mouth…" he commented.

"I do not think I ever wanted to tear your face off more," Talzik grumbled to the one-armed Rafiq.

"Thank you for that wonderful comment," Malik growled sarcastically, and only got a shrug in response.

Altair sighed, thankful that the awkward nightmare was over. A long silence followed, and Altair grew impatient.

"Malik?" Altair asked cautiously.

The one armed man turned to him, surprised by the sudden noise. He seemed completely clueless as to what the smaller assassin wanted to know.

"…Larin Nefarit…?" After getting another clueless look from Malik, Altair sighed. "Information?"

"Oh!" Malik shouted. "Right! My apologies. I truly wish I could help you," Altair found that Malik's sarcasm was truly annoying, "but all that I know is that his quarters are in the center of the Rich District. You and your master," Malik waved his remaining arm at Talzik, "can start your search there."

Altair glared at Malik, sighed, turned and began to leave. When he reached the room with the cushions, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned, coming face to face with his jack-ass of a partner, a cruel, hollow, fake smirk spread across his face.

"Now, what kind of a reaction was that?" He teased, his words like icicles piercing Altair's train of thought.

_What an asshole…_Altair though as he looked into his partner's cold gaze.

"That was horrendously awkward and it made me die a little inside," Altair calmly responded in a monotonous voice.

Talzik shrugged and headed towards the opening. "Whatever."

As the taller assassin began to disappear out of the opening, Altair caught himself staring again, his eyes wandering over his shoulders, his large weapon strapped to his back. He looked at how his sleeves dangled over his hidden blade, so you could only see his pale fingertips if his arms were down. He admired his speed, his grace, and his voice kept echoing in his mind.

_Asshole,_ Altair thought as he followed after his partner. He was upset because he couldn't stop a grin from stretching across his face.


	4. The Fight

**ALLO! This is Lollerpop! I would just like to thank brilliantmemories BECAUSE she wrote, like, half of this for me because I am suffering HORRIBLE writers block!**

**Which reminds me...I think I'm going to start taking writing requests...because I have horrible writers block and nothing helps me more than being tole to write a specific scene! So please...GIVE ME A REQUEST!!!**

**Now, I hope you enjoy chapter 4!**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

They wandered on the rooftops for a little while. Altair didn't even know if they were going the right way. He just decided to trust Talzik's judgment.

_Or his ass._ Altair let the horrified flit into his head for a split second before shaking his head side to side violently.

_I am __**not**__ attracted to Talzik in __**any**__ way, _Altair lied to himself.

Altair followed Talzik up to a tall building, and climbed all the way to the top. Talzik snuck to the end and sat on the edge, gazing at the busy streets below.

Altair sat on the railing next to him, marveling at how beautiful he looked, the sun illuminating his features, the wind making his cloak sway in front of him, the way he gazed out onto the street made him seem more like a great, elegant beast preparing to strike….

And then Altair noticed he was staring. And that Talzik noticed he was staring.

_Shit._

Talzik was looking back at him, a single eyebrow raised, his mouth creased into a confused frown.

"Just what are you looking at exactly?"

Altair was silent for a second. Part of him wanted to look away and shout loudly "**nothing**" (the louder you say it the more convincing…right?), but the other part, his pride, was telling him to make some angry comment and try to insult his way out of the situation. And, as usual, his pride won.

Altair let a cold glare settle across his face. "I am debating on whether or not I should stab you before I shove you off that plank," he snarled.

Talzik let a brief smirk flicker on his lips. "I do not like this any more than you do but at least I am _waiting_ to kill you."

Altair was used to these kinds of responses, so he wasn't fazed by that. He was fazed because he didn't think his pride could hold out much longer.

"The fact you are waiting is insulting."

A cruel, cold smile crept across Talzik's lips as he stood up on the plank and made his way towards Altair.

"Would you prefer if I did not wait?" he purred in some sort of sadistic and playful tone. A tone that Altair found to be downright seductive.

"Well, if you do not mind your _own_ death, then no. But if you do then you might want to back-" he was cut short when Talzik gave him such a powerful right hook he flew of the edge and fell on the ground.

_Good thing this roof is flat…_Altair thought to himself.

He struggled to his feet, only to get a sock in the nose that made him loose his footing for a second, which he quickly regained. He charged toward Talzik and faked a punch so he could land a high kick to the stomach. Talzik exhaled sharply at the kick, then soon charged at the smaller assassin again, grabbed him by the shoulders, and slammed him to the ground. But Altair decided to take Talzik with him, which proved to be a big mistake.

Altair had managed to grab enough of Talzik's robes to create enough momentum to throw both of them very nearly off the roof. Now in a vulneralble position, Altair felt almost his whole upper body being pulled to the ground by gravity. Talzik smirked, and leaned close enough to Altair's face so that the spread eagle assassin could feel every word Talzik spoke as his breath caressed his face.

"Nice try, novice," Talzik playfully murmured, his eyes bright with mischief. He knew how much Altair hated the word, and was not disappointed with the reaction.

Feeling muscles bunch, Talzik found himself flying through the air. With assassin-like quickness, he righted himself, and landed like a cat. Altair was already on his feet, staring at Talzik with his well known competitiveness. The two men could have been locked in a bad western, had they not currently been living in the 12th century. Although instead of guns, Altair was flexing the fingers of his sword wielding hand, and Talzik was standing calmly, almost nonchalantly, grinning. Altair was good. He had potential, and one day, be it sooner or later, he would probably become a better fighter than Talzik himself. While the tables were in his favor, however, Talzik planned to make the most of his advantage.

With better trained eyes, Altair might have noticed the blur that Talzik became as he sped at Altair, knocking both off them clear off the roof. Caught up in surprise, Altair instinctively searched for something to grab onto. The closest thing he could find was Talzik's robes, as he pulled the assassin closer to him. Wind was whipping both of the assassin's robes around them, making them look like a mere black and white blur as they fell from the sky. By the time impact occurred, Altair had practically wound himself around Talzik like a belt.

With a whispery thump, golden hay was raining around them. Talzik once again had Altair pinned down, although Altair had taken the impact like a pro.

"That was pitiful," Talzik sneered, feigning disappointment. "I could have killed you in a second, if I had any mind to do so." He looked into Altair's eyes. "But, I must compliment your landing in two ways. The first, you sustained hardly any damage to yourself- that I can see anyway." - For a moment, images of shattered bones floated in front of his eyes. They cleared away, though, as Talzik noticed Altair's slightly glazed look. He was stunned, not injured.- "The second, you hardly let the fall damage me, as you had ever so strategically wrapped yourself around me like a cobra, although I highly doubt your intention was to kill me."

Altair ignored the jibe. "You could easily have missed the hay bale." He accused with very little conviction.

"Ah, so naive, little Altair," Talzik smiled craftily, "You see, I am a higher rank than you. I know where every little pebble is in this city. I know every face."

"And if someone had moved the cart, while your self proclaimed superiority needed a little rest?"

"Once again, I believe you were the one to receive the brunt of the force. Novice, you always seem to be below, do you not? Beneath me in ranking, beneath me skill-wise, beneath me...right now."

Despite the cool wind, Altair felt a blush warm his cheeks. A few strands of hay had fallen into Talzik's white hair, offsetting the rays of the dying sunlight behind him. It looked like golden strands had suddenly decided to appear in his hair, causing Altair's blush to deepen, as he thought of plucking the straw from Talzik's hair.

"And what do you plan to do with this information?" Altair asked quietly, feeling his breath hitch slightly, as Talzik leaned closer, their noses almost touching.

He stared into Altair's dark eyes with a smoldering intensity, all playfulness forgotten.

"This." Talzik whispered, closing the distance between himself and Altair.

Altair let his eyes close as he silently pleaded for Talzik to press their lips together, when he heard a small, quiet, and rather sweet voice come up by the haystack.

"Talzik?" the voice asked, "Are you in there?"


	5. An Unbearably Long Day

**HOLY CANOLE I AM SO HAPPY TO BE BACK. IT HAS BEEN WAY TOO FRIGGIN' LONG. *kisses website* I missed you, baby.**

**The reason for my over-a-year-long-absence is because, FIRST, the computer broke, then it got fixed but we didn't have the internet, then we moved, then we STILL didn't have the internet (except for on my phone so I could still read and review fics, buuut-) and then, FINALLY, I got my own laptop (aka the sexiest damn laptop to ever live) and there is a library/starbucks within walking distance. So, FINALLY I am back!**

**Uh, if anyone is still bothering to read this story, I will have you know that (I hope) my writing has improved EXPONENTIALLY [exaggeration] and also, due to character development, the OCs in this story will be different than what they would have been at the beginning, including Talzik. And, believe me, there WILL BE OCs. However, the change (hopefully?) won't be too drastic.**

**However, I am debating re-writing/SEVERELY EDITING this story (so many errors in the previous chapters….MUST FIX…), so please review and give me your opinion…?**

**And, UNFORTUNATELY, I don't know as much about this time period as I would LIKE to, so, if I have ANYTHING wrong WHATSOEVER **_**please**_** correct me. I BEG OF THEEEEEEE….**

**Anyways, without further ado, I bring you the long-awaited (maybe?) chapter 5 of THE PARTNERSHIP, titled **_**"An Unbearably Long Day"**_**! Well, after the disclaimer and the warnings.**

**Warnings: **_Harsh/offensive language, incessant bickering, and moody people. _

**Disclaimer: **_I OWN _NOTHING _BUT MY OCs. _NOTHING!

* * *

Altair hastily crawled out from under his new "partner in crime" and dashed out of the haystack to meet the newcomer.

Putting the face to the voice wasn't a challenge. The voice had been sweet and delicate, full of care and concern, and thick with an Italian accent. His face was round, and looked as smooth as his voice had sounded. His skin was pale, eyes a crystalline blue, hair a nice sienna brown that flipped and curved in what appeared to be "organized chaos". He was short, and from what he could see of his figure through his clothes, he appeared to be nicely curved, surprisingly.

What was hard to process with this newcomer, were his clothes. He was wearing assassin robes, no mistaking it. They were white like Altair's own, cowl up, and he appeared to have most of the same weapons, except he had a different kind of sword, most likely from somewhere far away.

Altair blinked in confusion, completely dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a low, menacing growl.

"Emilin, what are you doing here?" Talzik hissed, his insuppressible rage seething through his gritted teeth.

Altair's immediate reaction to such a tone was fear, and he made sure he could escape easily should things get…out of hand. However, when he looked at the smaller boy (he appeared to be 13 years of age!) he was surprised to find his expression reflected only one emotion: annoyance.

"My grandest apologies, oh great master, for worrying about your well-being. It appeared as if you were in some trouble, and when I saw you fall, I felt it necessary to make sure no one had died. Well, that no one on our side died."

"I do not require the assistance of a _fruit_," the pale assassin retorted, and the boy simply scoffed in return.

"You should be nicer to this "fruit" if you want to get _any_ information in this city."

Altair was watching the conversation play out in complete confusion. He cleared his throat, catching both of the bickering assassin's attention.

"Uh…who is this?" the grey-eyed assassin mumbled, confusion thickly laced in his voice.

The smaller boy's eyes brightened and a large, admittedly adorable smile adorned his face.

"Ah, yes! I apologize greatly, it appears as if I had forgotten all about you!" he then turned his sparkling gaze to the growling, moody assassin, "are you not going to introduce us, Talzik?"

Talzik suddenly appeared to be very tired, and he slowly dragged his hand down his face.

"This is Emilin, my ex-apprentice-"

"And life-long friend!" the boy interrupted.

"And life-long fairy," Talzik finished, completely disregarding Emilin's comment and the kick to the shin the smaller assassin gave him.

Altair stood dumb-founded before murmuring, "You trained him? Wait, how old are you? How did you get an apprentice, wait, I'm confu-"

"I don't see how my age is any of your business but I am 26. Emilin became my apprentice through some sick, disgusting twist of events."

"Talzik advanced much faster than I did, and when my first mentor died, Al Mualim assigned Talzik to take his place, knowing that I would be able to adjust easily since I've known him for a long time," Emilin clarified at seeing Altair's confused expression only deepen.

"How old are you then, Emilin?" Altair dared venture.

"25," he happily explained. The grey-eyed assassin yelped in response and his eyes widened.

He felt his body tense as he replied with, "_But _I _am 25!_"

Emilin's smile widened, and he was about to say something when realization struck.

"Talzik," he whined, "you _still_ have yet to tell me who your friend is!"

The tall, looming, pale assassin's left eye twitched.

"That moron is anything but my friend," he ignored the look Altair shot him, not even caring what emotions were reflected on it, "He was, unfortunately, forced to be my supposed "partner" because Al Mualim has a sick sense of humor."

Emilin groaned in annoyance before hissing, "I _meant_ for you to tell me what his _name_ is you piece of cow shit."

Altair started at the sudden harsh language from the smaller assassin, but Talzik appeared to not care.

"Why, so you can fawn over _another_ man? Forget about it, ask him yourself if you want him so badly," and with that, he pushed past the two dumb-founded assassins and disappeared into the crowds.

Altair looked at Emilin, _begging_ for some sort of explanation. He saw the smaller assassin's shoulders heave in a sigh.

"That man, always jumping to conclusions and leaving before he can get any answers…" he turned his blue gaze to Altair, the previous sparkle seeming to have disappeared and instead was replaced with a glossy sheen, "I will help you look for him, but first, may I know what your name is?"

Altair nodded, still incredibly dumbfounded, before murmuring, "My name is Altair, pleased to make your acquaintance…?" unsurely.

Blue eyes lit with recognition as he gasped, "You mean _that_ Altair? The Eagle of Masyaf?"

He only nodded in response and scanned the crowds.

"We should probably go find Talzik, he's the one who knows everything…"

"…wait…why do you not know of your mission?"

"It is a complicated matter I would rather not go into."

* * *

Talzik grumbled as he walked down a narrow, empty alleyway. Every time a lone rock was unfortunate enough to cross his path, he made sure to kick it with all his furious might.

"Dumb queer and his dumb crushes and the stupid moron not noticing and being stupid….hell, they are _all a bunch of simple-minded morons!_ I cannot even begin to comprehend the level of idiocy I have had to encounter this day, this _lone day! _First Al Mualim, then that _shithead_ Altair, then that _whiny bitch_ Malik, and then that_ annoying bubbly fruit!_"

This went on until he finally found a bench and sat down, wallowing in his own negativity.

* * *

Altair searched the alleys warily, not wanting to admit he had no idea where the moody assassin was located. A light sigh coming from behind him grabbed his attention, and he turned to face Emilin looking concerned and slightly miffed.

"I really am sick of that bastard's attitude…" he began, his blue gaze locking on Altair's, "I really do apologize, he has always been so unbearably…whiny. I wish I could do something to make him listen every once in a while…"

Altair sighed in response, before awkwardly uttering a, "I suppose it is not your fault that he is such an uncaring, boring, and annoying pain in the ass," and finishing by shooting him a sympathetic smile and saying, "I have barely been able to keep myself from killing him, and I have only known him for a single day. You must have remarkable patience for putting up with him for so long."

The brunette puffed his chest out slightly as he swelled with pride.

"I have always been known to have incredulous amounts of patience, thank you very much!" he responded humorously.

Altair only laughed in response and continued searching, his body relaxing ever so slightly.

* * *

Talzik was astounded when he realized he was not headed in the correct direction.

The revelation hit him when he began walking away from the bench. He knew he was nearing a dead end, but to alter this course of action meant he would have to turn around….

Unacceptable. He could not handle the very idea of being forced together with any more morons. He looked at the walls, deciding on the very quick, though dangerous shortcut.

He was much faster on the rooftops anyhow.

* * *

"I am still astounded that we are both…equals. Well, as in rank and age and such," Altair began awkwardly.

"I am not surprised at your amazement, however, this really is not the right time to start a conversation," Emilin responded as he reached for another hand-hold.

"I still think we should've found a shorter building to scale and just search from there," Altair countered, double-checking the stability off the gouge in the wall he'd slipped his foot into.

"The higher the building, the more we can see," Emilin mumbled, "Now, please, can we concentrate?"

Altair sighed, but didn't push the matter any further. It wasn't that he didn't like climbing, or scanning the city from so high up. He was more concerned with time, and he felt that they would get much more done if they split up and searched the streets from lower buildings. Easy to maneuver, to run, and, if need be, to chase.

Altair gave in and accepted the fact that this day was only going to get longer.

* * *

Talzik had absolutely no idea where he was. Which, of course, either meant that he was in some strange and uncharted part of the city, he had somehow slipped into a different dimension while on his run, or he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention.

He really hoped that it was one of the first two. The last one would be bad for his reputation.

* * *

"Found him," Altair said as he sighed in relief. Emilin turned around to look, and the grey eyed assassin pointed to the black hooded grouch.

To say Emilin's reaction was surprising would be an understatement. His whole body tensed and his blue eyes widened.

"Shit," he hissed and immediately went through a quick weapons check. Altair tilted his head to the side.

"What are you doing? What is the matter?"

"We have to get him out of there. Now," Emilin's urgent tone changed his voice into something else entirely. It was no longer light, sweet, and bouncy. Instead it was cold, hard, and emotionless, much like someone else Altair had the displeasure (pleasure?) of meeting. The smaller assassin leapt off of the wooden plank and delicately landed in the golden haystack below before charging off in the direction of his former master.

"_Yes…_" Altair thought on his descent, "_A long day indeed…_"

* * *

**Aaawww snap what has Tally-poo gotten himself into?**

**Sorry for the lame update after being inactive for so long! I promise, the next one will be better! I just needed to introduce Emilin to get him and Altair to be friends because it is VERY IMPORTANT.**

**Thus ends Chapter 5 of THE PARTNERSHIP- **_**"An Unbearably Long Day"**_**! Next chapter will feature action, awkward bromance moments ("well…I guess you don't suck THAT bad…"), a certain misunderstanding is cleared (HAHA YEAH RIGHT) and finally Altair and Talzik get somewhere in their relationship (sorta!)!**


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